Clandestine
by Maniac Tenshi
Summary: Late Victorian Era, there exists two. Two sets of secrets, two fates, intertwined. Hir lies, his lies, no end nigh. Dapper and prim, lacking poise and grace, they spiral toward an unwitting calamity. Can you keep my secret? Can you speak a lie? She seeks salvation in the light of deception. How will this tainted tale of love unravel? We begin in time...and end the same.
1. Widow and Child

**Clandestine**

**Chapter one: **The Carpenter's Widow and Child

-x-x-x-x-

**A/n:** I love the Victorian Era and KidCrona so much that this was produced.

In this, Crona is portrayed as a female because of the clothing she wears and way she acts, but there's more to her sex, so I'm going to misspell the pronouns for Crona. In other words, I will be using _hir_, _hirs_, and _she. Hir(s)_ is combining _her_ and _his_, and _she_ already has _he_ in it (because it's a male-oriented world), and same with _Wo__**man**_ and _Wo__**men**_ and _Fe__**male**_.

**Rating: **Mature (for sexual themes and content, gender sensitivity, and abuse)

**Genre: **Romance/Angst

**WARNING: **This fanfiction contains serious and perhaps offensive elements concerning gender and sexuality as well as mild physical abuse.

**Disclaimer: **The owner of _Soul Eater_is Atsushi Ōkubo. This work of fiction is composed entirely by me_._ I gain nothing material by writing this and do it solely for fun. The poem "I Am the Monster, Mother" belongs to me also.

**Beta: **_**Veroxion**_

-x-x-x-x-

_Little children smiled and played,_

_All but me, I was locked away,_

_I don't recall ever existing for myself;_

_It's a pointless thing to do,_

_I feel I do not live,_

_But I continue to grow for you,_

_You have always kept jars on your special shelf,_

_Full of things I cannot touch or understand,_

_But you once told me, _

_I would be on that shelf,_

_If I was not a careful child,_

_Are you surprised at how I have turned out?_

_I am only everything you've made me to be, Mother._

_But I'm still not the child you want._

-x-x-x-x-

When overcome by fear or its cousin anxiety, one often suspects the world of conspiring against them. Crowds are staring and brazenly gossiping, though speaking as callously as if secret. Even Nature scrutinizes one's faults, with the winds spreading rumors and the trees murmuring offensive truths. For the youth Crona, solace could not be found even within isolation. Every which way she turned, a voice denigrated hir mere presence.

So when dwelling in the vast, ashy woods that the moon tinted corpse-blue nearly each night, this adult of 17 would desperately wrap a faded cloak of onyx around hir form to block out fabricated slanders. Though, to be fair, the slanders were not always imagined. Indeed, the words spawned from the scorn of the deranged carpenter's widow.

Medusa Gorgon, respectively Lady Medusa, was once the wife of a carpenter. The estranged couple appeared well-met, until behind closed doors. Call Lady Medusa a wolf in sheep's wool, for that's what she was.

Many a month passed in contentment before the carpenter noticed the peculiarity of his wife. Her abundant kindness never faltered, and, had he been a simpleton, he would have told himself not to look a gifted horse in the mouth. But the carpenter was wiser than Lady Medusa would have liked. He became suspicious of her late-nights in the nursery with their new babe; at all hours with the mother the child would wail relentlessly.

One night when awakened by the cries, he investigated. Initially, he witnessed his wife asleep in her rocking chair with the fitful infant tucked within a blanket in her arms. He would have temporarily abandoned his suspicions then had he not detected another presence. He leaned over seeing a thin, curved shadow beneath his offspring's crib and found too late what it was.

"Poor fool," the wife muttered, "he went sooner than planned."

She, who had seemed so lovely, was in truth wicked.

Conveniently, only a priest and Medusa's younger sister (there as witness) had attended the marriage, so when the husband died, there was no one but choice customers to care.

"My deepest condolences Miss." Face after insignificant face spoke to her.

"Such a shame... He was a good man. Quite a curious way to go."

"Aye, he was... My poor love, I warned him of serpents..." More crocodile tears were wept.

Days passed and the carpenter's buried carcass was forgotten with the exception of his widow. She raised their child in secret, feeding it hatred and truth-bearing lies. "Your father was not as dumb as most, but he was still just a fool. I kept him for as long as needed. When he became a problem, I disposed of him. Remember, Crona, that to you I'll do the same."

The child grew into a young adult, portrayed in plain feminine garb to conceal hirself completely. Escape from the taunts and rebukes did not exist. She could only continue to suffer under their weight on hir conscience.

She existed to obey, so fretting over words and fears was pointless unless Mother told hir to do so.

There was no consolation for the child of the carpenter's widow, and it seemed there never would be.

-x-x-x-x-

"The sun rose hours ago, yet you lie about. Rise Crona.

She did as hir mother commanded. Hir body protested in its need for rest after the previous day of tests, but even when drowsy the lavender pink-haired youth knew not to verbalize complaints. Hesitation was unforgivable as well.

"If you fare well during this day's tests, then I shall feed you."

Starvation was one of the ways she was controlled, reduced to the cravings of an animal. A trained, unintelligible mammal at Medusa's disposal. Much like the critters the golden-haired woman performed minor experiments on, Crona was simply a living tool used to achieve Medusa's goals. The youth was feeble and easy to control by both physical and psychological tortures.

In the basement where a tin basin was kept for washing, there were tables and carts where Medusa conducted a series of experiments using herbs and alchemy. In the center of the lightless room built directly underneath the den, there was an all too familiar stainless steel dissection table. Crona numbly climbed onto the freezing cart without a single gasp, despite wearing hir thin full slip and nothing more; it was routine.

"Your arms, stretch them out." Medusa instructed as she filled a syringe with an unidentifiable turquoise liquid.

Crona did as instructed without hesitation. Her puffy, tired eyes of stormy blue stared at the sickeningly familiar and dull ceiling. No thoughts of importance crossed hir mind. The best she could do during this daily routine was focus on the colors and shapes that formed the decrepit world surrounding hir. If she had the ability to think of anything else, the pain would immediately override it.

The sharp, chilly needle tore into one of hir scarred, lanky arms with little resistance. Depending on what the syringe contained, it usually caused hir body to convulse, or induce nausea where she'd violently vomit stomach acid. This time, it was convulsions coupled with an indescribable burning in hir skull. Hir body heaved, but the burning distracted hir from that aspect. She focused on how the fire in hir head faded into a buzzing, like millions of copper pellets were vibrating behind hir eye sockets. Though still, it felt like she was spiraling down as she heard murmuring fading in and out. Another fabrication… Wait. No… It was Lady Medusa.

Despite hir delirium, Crona began panicking. She couldn't understand what the murmurs said. _"Ignorance is intolerable." _Crona knew that too well. Lady Medusa had said it many times. "_Unforgiveable…"_

"-ona, res-" The words were still fading. "Respond." Then she heard it, the key word, but she couldn't obey. Hir body refused. _'Please move! You idiot, speak! Don't anger her!'_

There were no appropriate assumptions of how much time had passed before hir seizure ceased, it had all happened so fast to Crona. Tears blurred hir stinging eyes as she panted, yet she could see the foggy form of Medusa looming over with a half-emptied red syringe.

"Can you hear me now?" Medusa's bright reptilian eyes observed while waiting for a response.

It hurt to speak, hir throat suddenly sore and constricted, but she forced a cough and hoarsely replied, "…y-yes….Madame…."

Medusa didn't reply, but it was apparent to Crona hir mother had a particular thought process. The woman left her child's side to jot down those thoughts with grim concentration. "Pitiful. Usually you last longer. Disappointing." She stopped and gave a sharp look of contemplation at the lavender pink-haired test subject. "If you can complete a measly task then you shall be fed. Collect herbs from the Pagans. Their meeting should come to an end soon, so pace yourself."

Somehow Crona forced hirself down from the table and wobbled up the stairs, palming the stone walls. That buzzing had returned, a type of dizziness, distorting hir depth perception, but she managed in the urge to obey and grabbed hir cloak from by the door before departing.

The dark, hir treacherous friend she so hated, had nearly completely dissipated as the Sun awakened the world. Yet she could hardly make out the stone bridge she'd crossed many a time to reach the forests. A single bare foot touched the icy stone before she collapsed in a fever, battering one side of hir face in the process. The cold of the bridge quickly numbed hir sickly frame as she lost vision. Finally hir consciousness left.

Perhaps fortunately, at this time a young man took his morning stroll and passed the bridge. From the edge of his vision he noticed a mound of black and turned to see it was a person underneath a shroud.

"By God, who is that?" The young man rushed to hir side and lifted the material, only to drop it in a bit of shock. _'Of all the myths of witches and I see this… What strange hair…' _ To this person, Crona didn't look quite human in hir frailty and odd hair color, but another fortunate thing was that this person wasn't new to peculiarity. He attempted to rouse hir to no avail, so he decided to lift this stranger similar to a bride by her groom. As he carried hir to his nearby manor he noticed with fascination how she resembled a cadaver; ashen, frigid, and boney.

As soon as they reached the secluded grounds of his home, Gallows Manor, he struggled with the rot iron gates and hurried in. _'This person is fortunate I appeared when I did.' _ After bursting into the darkly adorned building, he shouted for the house nurse, who took her time to rush out with exhausted irritation.

"Young Master, what could it possibly be at this hour?" a dark-skinned woman asked right before seeing Crona. "Enlighten me as I patch that child up. Take 'em to a room." She motioned hurriedly.

The voices returned to Crona's head, murmuring things she couldn't understand. Everything was black with splatters of dark maroon, so she half-assumed she was asleep. But then she remembered hir fall. In confusion, she wanted to move and see but could do neither. She was so frightened she didn't even think of what Medusa would do, and Crona never stopped worrying over that. Slowly, hir sight came back in a mixture of shadows and light, and what she saw unsettled hir.

"Wh-what-" she started to yell but coughed, hir sore throat coated in mucus.

"Don't strain yourself. I'm Mira, the house nurse of Gallows Manor. You'll be safe here." Mira assured.

Crona couldn't help but strain hirself when trying to stop the fair nurse from rising up hir slip to check for injuries. She struggled to sit up and pushed Mira's hands away, hoarsely shouting, "N-no, stop! I can't handle this!"

"Mira, what is happening?" the young master of the house asked, rushing into the room. His unusual golden gaze went to the person he'd rescued.

"She started awake is what." Mira replied, attempting to hold down the struggling patient.

"Here, let me." he interjected, taking Mira's place next to the queen-sized bed in which Crona writhed. Hir terrified eyes watched him lean nearer, completely composed. "Please calm yourself, I mean you no harm. My name is Kid, son of Lord Death. Who might you be?

She wasn't sure what to say, or if she should say anything at all, but it distracted hir enough to settle down.

"Please Miss., I require a name." Miss? She'd never been called that before, or anything remotely similar.

Curiously, she replied, "Crona." This response seemed to please Kid, who smiled lightly. A smile... Crona made a face at him without meaning to, for she'd never encountered a smile that held no ill meaning. She'd only seen Lady Medusa with the expression, far more malicious. Aside from his smile, she noticed another peculiar quality: his ringed amber eyes. They were hauntingly familiar, inhuman and bright, just like Lady Medusa's. So similar, it unnerved her. She eyed him cautiously.

"What an intriguing name. Might I ask of your surname?

She hadn't one. She'd never needed one, and there could be no evidence of connection between hirself and Lady Medusa. She was never meant to meet a person who would ask hir. She shook hir head to indicate 'no', and Kid's smile faltered.

"You must be curious of the situation. I found you collapsed on a bridge nearby. Do you remember how you came to be there?" Once again she shook hir head, knowing she'd have to mention Lady Medusa, and she loathed questions. "Well…that being the case, I welcome you to stay the night." Then he strode away, motioning for Mira who quickly came to his side.

"She's starved and dehydrated." Mira told him quietly, a perturbed look in her ice-blue eyes. "Wherever she came from, it was not a pleasant place." They subtly glanced over at their guest who lay weakly breathing.

To Mira, Kid said, "'twould be callous not to assist her. Please do so." The nurse nodded in comprehension and left the room to fetch food. With one last look at Crona, Kid left the room as well.

Hours passed as Crona drifted in and out of a restless sleep, being fed broth inbetween fits. By midnight she'd regained some sense of self and hir immense fears returned. She waited several anxious minutes for Mira to leave the room, if just temporarily. As soon as the nurse did, the sickly youth used what little strength she'd recovered and ran for the door. Not knowing which way to go, she ran blindly down the dimly lit and decorated hallway until she nearly bumped into someone.

"Whoa there!" a slightly older female exclaimed with hands raised defensively. "Oh…you are…Kid's guest, am I right?" Crona stared at the young woman with slightly long caramel blonde hair for a moment of dumb hesitation before shooting past her. "Well, that was odd." the lady muttered to herself with an eyebrow cocked.

It didn't take long to escape the residence since the room Crona had been staying in was down a hallway connected to the spacious foyer. From there out of the doors she stumbled along the only path in sight, fenced in by trees and a stream, until she spotted the familiar bridge.

Medusa's house was barely a mile away. When she arrived, the house was completely dark. Due to a sense of impending doom, she couldn't bring hirself to enter. She stood outside with bated breath, eyeing the wooden door reluctantly.

"Do you plan on prolonging my wait?" the strong, feminine voice of hir mother sounded from inside. Tremors shook hir body as she reached for the door handle, suddenly dizzy. Stepping inside, pitch blackness consumed hir, but she could imagine Medusa standing in front of hir with those fiercely disapproving eyes. For a while neither of them spoke, the tension so thick in the air Crona was suffocating. Then Medusa uttered, "You forgot your shroud. I wonder where it is."

Crona's nails dug into the arm she anxiously clutched, realizing the already horrid predicament she'd put hirself in had worsened. _'I should have left sooner, I should have-…'_

"Since you have once again failed me, you shall receive proper punishment. Repentance for your ill behavior will accompany you and only that. For your own sake, pray your absence does not cause me further grief." Hearing her footsteps, Crona followed the woman through the lightless house to hir room.

They stepped inside the small room that contained a worn twin bed and small table where a single candle stood, which Medusa lit. She turned toward her child, about to speak again, when she noticed Crona flinch. "Flinching? As if I would lay a hand on such a worthless maggot as you. Now stop dawdling. You know what to do."

Obediently Crona moved to the center of the room and knelt down to unhook a latch in the floorboards and hesitated. Medusa reminded quietly, "If I am required to touch you, then the pain will be beyond any severity you've experienced."

Underneath the floorboards was a cramped, dark chamber, just big enough for a single fully grown person. Crona, who had spent much of hir life inside it, slipped feet first into the cold hole. Carrying the candle, Medusa stood over her child with a frigid, emotionless stare before shutting and locking the false floorboard.

Even though she felt she deserved this, the youth with lavender pink hair thought of the three strangers at the mansion and felt a growing sorrow unlike any she'd felt before.

**Any helpful comments on dialect would be strongly appreciated. I did my best to keep their words accurate to the century, but I'm far from being an expert. I'm terribly sorry how angsty that was! I promise that there will be plenty of romance in future chapters.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please review so I know what you like, dislike, and all that jazz.**


	2. Deceptive Orphan

**Clandestine**

**Chapter two: **Deceptive Orphan 

-x-x-x-x-

**A/n:** Second chapter, woohoo! I think this will be the first fanfiction I ever complete (that I can be proud of). I really enjoy writing it. If we get beyond 7 chapters, it will be the most chapters I have ever written! We'll see how this plays out, shall we? Truth be told, most of what's going on is very improper for the time century behavior-wise, but these aren't normal circumstances, are they?

Also, when in speech the reason why it's _her _instead of _hir _is because that's based on what the character speaking believes/assumes about Crona. Female is usually assumed because of the clothes.

My sincerest thanks to **_kissMe imDying _**for the first and very lovely review to this work. I was simply elated by it. As well, I'd like to thank **_Veroxion, KAC-N,_** **_KuriSari, _**and **_0BlAcK0RaVe0 _**for their input.

**Beta reader: _Veroxion_**

-x-x-x-x-

It didn't take long before it was apparent their guest had left. Finding that hir cloak had remained untouched from where it'd been placed in plain sight on a nearby chair, suspicion grew inside Kid that she'd been taken. The 'who' and 'why' befuddled him. In fact, much about this stranger intrigued as well as confused him. Tempted to look for hir, he immediately called upon Sid, one of his father's close associates, when the older man was spotted about to leave the residence.

"Pardon me, but have you seen a girl with oddly colored hair tonight?"

"Sorry, but I have seen only a few handmaidens this late."

"Never mind, then… Thank you for your time." There was honest disappointment in his voice; not so much caused by concern for Crona's well-being, but more by unrequited interest. He hadn't the chance to ask about hir odd hair color (or have it properly cut) or anything more before she'd disappeared. He nodded curtly to his elder in respect before departing down a lengthy hall where a handmaiden killed the lantern lights. Passing by this woman on the way to his room, he ordered that if she or anyone else spotted a person with abnormal hair to inform him. Afterwards he continued to his bedchamber; he sat there for quite a while in contemplation rather than sleep.

_'Tomorrow, or, make that this day, I shall ask Father when I meet with him what his thoughts on searching for this girl are. I know that it would be right to do so…but I also know that is not the only reason I desire to. Then there is the Christmas gala to consider that I volunteered to host in place of my father this year… Is it really worth taking out the time for a single stranger? This is ridiculous of me, isn't it?' _Kid released an irritated breath as he sat on an edge of his large bed that was decorated with a canopy of burgundy draping. He rubbed his temples as he thought, wondering what his next move would be. "Father should know." he concluded before departing from the bed to change into his night shirt.

He awoke in sync with his internal clock a few hours later quite groggily, but forced himself to his feet. Cold water lightly splashing his face awakened him from the stupor as he washed with water from the porcelain basin residing in his chamber. He paused his washing, staring into the mirror.

So the day began.

-x-x-x-x-

"A shame it would be to miss your hosting of this year's Christmas festivities." Lord Death spoke to his only child within his spacious study.

"With the sudden scare going about town, I would be surprised if you did nothing to soothe the common man's mind. I understand you leaving, well. Furthermore, you yourself said that I am of the age to take on this sort of responsibility. I promise not to disappoint." A light smirk tugged at Kid's lips brought on by confidence.

Being the eccentric fellow that he was, Lord Death was never seen by anyone but his son (and even that was considered rare) without some sort of mask and robe. Regardless, Kid could tell when his father was smiling and knew that Lord Death was reassured. Then suddenly Kid's smirk dissipated, causing Lord Death's smile to leave as well. "There is one more important- or, rather, bothersome question I have for you." the young Death began as his father listened patiently.

"The girl I mentioned to you before, I am not sure if I should even bother with her. Though as your son it's my duty to care for the residents of Death City, I know with this particular person it is not care as it is…curiosity. I worry that focusing on this Miss. would distract from all other duties, and that it might be selfish to begin with."

Kid flicked his head up, caught off-guard by the snicker Lord Death emitted. "Ah, son, I remember having such worries at your age. Let it be what it will. It sounds simple enough to me; help her. You accomplish both your goals that way!" the older man waved a gloved hand dismissively.

A bit reluctantly Kid nodded in agreement. _'Of course that would be his solution. So simple and yet…' _"I should be going then?"

"If you wish; I have no further business with you, Kid."

"Very well, thank you Father." Kid bowed respectfully before taking his leave.

Clothed with a coat for the morning chill mere minutes later, he set out for his usual morning walk on the worn path between woods and river. Once outside, he glanced at the grayish blue sky admiringly, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. Crona's eyes were nearly the same color.

Wondering why he would remember such a thing, Kid shook his head to clear it and returned his focus to the trees that shadowed his way. With their deep evergreens that wilted into pumpkin oranges and dried browns it was as eerie as it was soothing. Ironically, he'd never explored the nature he so admired and here he found himself wondering why that was.

The faintest streak of silver caught his eye. No, this was not a trick of light; the color was swift and had disappeared quicker than he'd moved. Not one for charades, he demanded the owner of the mysterious silver to reveal itself before he did. Unexpectedly quick, a lithe young woman with luminescent hair emerged from the forest. A strong scowl remained on her round face, though her body betrayed the expression with its subtle trembling. "Death's son." she hissed with her mouth twitching upward in disgust.

"Who are you?" The unlikeliness of meeting two suspicious people within the span of two days was a thought not unnoticed by Kid.

Chewing her lower lip, the stranger replied, "My sisters call me Eruka. L-listen here, you have no business with me and I none with you."

"Then why, Eruka, were you stalking me and apparently know who I am?"

He watched her expression morph as she considered lying, but she knew it would be no use as she'd already said too much with such few words. "I was not _stalking _you," she spat, "-but simply huckleberrying when I took notice of your presence." Her onyx eyes darted to one side nervously despite her annoyed tone. "Everyone knows Death and his son around here."

"Though you don't live in the city, you know the name Death."

"I live nearby, and word travels fast with open ears." Eruka's expression was just as snide as her retort.

Kid's golden eyes drifted to her hair. "Have you seen a girl with rosy hair?"

"What?" she asked, indignant (and a bit surprised) at the fact he had no reply to what she'd just said. "Rosy hair? Were you not listening to me?"

"I was. Have you seen anyone like that?"

_'Might as well be a bastard with behavior such as that! Oh, his kind are nothing but trouble!' _the forest dweller fumed internally. "No, I cannot say that I have." she ground out. '_Rosy hair? Is he serious? How ridiculous, there's only one person li- Wait.' _"Crona…" Eruka whispered, struck by a mediocre epiphany.

"What was that? Did you just say Crona?" Now he was getting somewhere.

_'Of all the vile things to befall me today, I was in no way prepared to speak with this twit.' _"Why, you know of her?"

"Actually, I met her just yesterday. Who might you be in relation to Crona?"

Haughtily placing hands on hips, Eruka spoke with a glare, "She comes to the forest often, typically for my collected herbs. She always comes from over the bridge, so she mustn't live but a mile away."

"You have my gratitude then, Miss." He began to leave, headed down the path at a quicker pace to reach the bridge.

"Wait, what-!" she started after him, but then ceased. "What am I doing? What do I care what he wants with that shrew's child? Completely pointless." The silver haired young woman grumbled her way back into the woods.

-x-x-x-x-

It took roughly 20 minutes until he spotted a meek shack of a house and considerably less time than that to wait for an answer after knocking. The door creaked open, leisurely taking its time to reveal the woman shielded behind.

So quick it was that Kid almost missed the way her sharp eyes analyzed him from head to toe. "May I help you?"

"Pardon me Miss., but I have reason to believe a person I am searching for takes residence here. Do you live alone?" The strangest and most unexpected sensation of unease crept into the young man despite how harmless the woman appeared.

"Whoever directed you here knows nothing, because yes, I do live alone. I'm terribly sorry, but your search is to continue." A fair amount of sympathy covered her tone, but she still didn't sit right with him. He wondered why that was, and yet never really considered how the brains of humans work against their masters, always questioning but barely acting on the advice of intuition. His mind was no exception.

"Once again, my apologies." Kid politely replied, and then turned away as he decided to return home.

Seeing his back at a few feet away, the woman known as Medusa shut her door. Anger burned through her, knowing Crona had been the cause of the unwanted visit. Then, just as quickly, the negative emotion started to fade as she contemplated how to treat the situation. She smirked so slightly as she strode through the shelter to her child's room.

"Come out now, Crona. I bring news." Though Crona knew not how much time had passed as every second in the chamber lasted dreadfully long, it could not have been a full day yet. What news could Lady Medusa have that would prove more important than hir punishment? Truthfully, she didn't care so long as she could leave the chamber.

"We had a visitor who came for you." The sickening worry within hir renewed. "I suppose I should be displeased with you. However, there is fortune in this. Now this is not nearly as simple as collecting herbs, but such an opportunity should be taken. I shall see how you fare." The vague smirk grew on the woman's face as reluctant wonder filled her child.

-x-x-x-x-

The bitter wind whipped at Crona's skin and thin brown dress as she stood clutching the edge of the infamous bridge almost desperately. What she needed to do was simple enough. Actually proceeding with the plan was turning into an ordeal for hir.

_'Return to Gallows Manor. Do not look at me with such surprise that I know more than you.'_

However...she'd fled in such a hurry that she had no clue where she'd come from. Moreover, it had been pitch night. Hir darkened eyes glanced around in contemplation, and then she realized there was only one path to follow. Only two turns to make; she chose right with the knowledge the left led to a field she could see from where she stood.

She avoided any eye-contact with the woods the best she could. It was hir only sanctuary yet screamed every ounce of the pain and guilt she'd experienced. Of course, anytime she was truly alone with hir thoughts, she felt the weight of penitence. Not to forget the woods were also where the Pagans came for sanctuary, the awkwardness of bothering them was not lost on hir. She knew how uneasy she made them and how Eruka despised hir mother.

It wasn't long until she arrived at the intimidating gothic gates of what she assumed correctly as Gallows Manor. Finding the gates unlocked, she pushed them open...only to be startled by the way it screeched. She ran toward the mansion thoughtlessly and didn't stop until safely inside.

"Hey, hey, hey, a girl just ran in! Her hair is the color of pink roses! Or maybe lavender..." an excited feminine voice shouted off, before she tilted her head in thought. It alarmed Crona worse than the gates, so she fell back against the great doors. Looking like a frightened doe, she slid down to the marble floor. The energetic female continued to stare and hum in wonder at hir until a vaguely familiar face joined their presence.

"Oh, you again." the lithe lady commented with some surprise evident in her deep blue eyes. She spoke to the girl by her side, "Stay here while I- Better yet, _you _go retrieve Kid." Crona's eyes followed in uncertainty as the first girl skipped off, so she didn't notice the darker blonde move until she was an impersonal few inches away. Nervously, the pinkette waited to see what the slightly older woman planned to do. "We met before, if you remember. You nearly knocked me right off my feet." Crona remained speechless and doe-eyed. It unsettled the woman.

Crouched down to eye-level, she attempted a smile. "Call me Liz. What should I call you?" Liz's introduction was greeted by silence. She frowned. "I would bet Kid knows your name." she muttered. Crona glanced at her more curiously than upset. "Oooh, so you remember him? Then I'll ask you, why is he so enamored with you?" Liz knew she'd bewildered the mysterious guest by how the curiosity showed even more prominent on hir face. Facing an awkward pause in speech, Liz thought of what else to say.

-x-x-x-x-

"Kiiid~!" the jubilant girl sung out, catching the attention of the dining room's occupants. "The one you were searching for is here! She burst right in!"

Kid's head whipped in the direction of the happy voice and replied, "Patty, speaking so loudly is unnecessary inside. I can hear you just- Wait, she's here?" Not pausing for a reply, he passed the maids arranging tableware and Patty, who followed a little indignantly. The two entered the corridor in time to see Liz having a one-sided conversation with the ever silent Crona.

"Welcome back." Kid's voice interrupted, drawing their attention.

"She refuses to talk." Liz informed with an uninterested tone.

"Then leave her be." An incredulous look was sent his way, but Liz left to speak with Patty behind him. "If you need it, a bed will be readied." His eyes roved over Crona's unwashed and frail body, unnerving hir with the fear he could somehow see every little bruise and scar. "Come now. Liz and Patty will help you clean up." He offered a hand.

"Wait, what?" Liz questioned in disbelief.

"Hey, hey, Big Sis! We can dress her in those old clothes we found!" Patty exclaimed.

"...were you rummaging the attic again?" Kid asked.

The entire situation unsettled Crona, but it had to be done. There was no returning to Medusa without reprimands waiting for hir, and the sickly youth knew Medusa could conjure punishments far more horrid than starving in a hole. Hesitantly, she touched his hand. He grasped it to help hir up, and then led hir down a hall reminiscent of the one she'd escaped by. She found hirself in a spacious, dim room where hir false-button shoes clapped against the tile. Observing the furniture and fixtures inside, she could grasp an idea of what the room was. It was a bathing room. But that didn't seem right. It was far grander than any she'd ever witnessed. Unlike the typically rusted aluminum bin in Lady Medusa's basement, there was a pristine clawfoot tub of white cast iron.

She was so mesmerized by the extravagance of it that she didn't notice Kid so close beside hir until he spoke. "It will take some time for the water to heat, so go ahead and turn the knobs. When the water is to your liking, just use the drain stopper like this. After you wash, ring this bell and a maid will bring you clean clothes." The trio left the bathroom to Crona, and once outside Liz immediately stopped.

"Explain to me why myself and Patty should do the job of a _maid_?"

"Does it physically _pain _you to help someone other than yourselves?" Kid asked tiredly.

"Smart aleck, the problem isn't that. Understand that I am not like you; I cannot deal with any stranger who comes along."

Patty decided to add, "Sis hates being ordered around." Liz scowled while Kid remained calm.

"I assumed you would help someone you could sympathize with."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"All three of you come from the streets." Embarrassment and anger warmed her face.

"How ironic since it would seem I have better manners than _you!_"

Patty watched, unsure what to do or say.

"_You _are the one yelling, Liz." Kid lightly glared.

With an aggravated huff, she stormed off and grumbled, "Come along, Patty."

"Are you angry?" the younger sister asked, offsetting her ecstatic demeanor.

Soon the two were out of sight, and Kid began to leave before a brief shout altered his motive. "Crona, are you alright?" There was no sound excluding the rush of water from the faucet inside the lavatory. "Crona?" The reply was silence. Tentatively, he turned the brass knob and entered the narrow hallway leading into the room. "I am coming in, are you decent?" When once again met by the lone sound of water, he went ahead and saw, to his relief as well as bewilderment, Crona standing fully clothed. She stood in front of the bathing basin staring at hir reddened hand. "Why did you not answer me?" She jolted, but didn't look up.

"I-it is...really hot. At first, I felt nothing but wetness, so I kept my hand still...but suddenly it stung." Kid fixed the knobs to the correct positions for a warm bath in place of Crona's boiling setting.

"Strange. It heated faster than expected. Someone could easily assist y-"

"No! I-I would not know how to handle someone seeing me...u-u-unrobed."

"...that's alright, understandable. Remember to turn the handles like so," He gave an example. "to close the water off. Now excuse me." She kept quiet as he departed and stood alone for several minutes before undressing.

Cautiously, she dipped into the steamy, warm water, and gasped at the foreign sensation. It was new and appreciated, so she gradually sunk into the bath. A content moan slipped out of hir lips as even the sting of water cleansing small wounds felt soothing. For a moment, she felt like never leaving... The thought mangled hir sweet dream, and the nearly relaxed youth jerked forward in reaction to realization. What she wanted meant nothing. Lady Medusa's desires, those meant everything. In no way could she forget hir purpose.

Crona washed in solemn silence, and when it came time to call for a maid, she lay in the draining tub with no will to leave. Time left hir cold after the water ran out, but still she stayed unmoving as useless thoughts whirred inside hir introspective mind. _'Such a bright, clean, large place... So warm... Different... It is the opposite of home. I do not belong.' _At the sound of a voice accompanied by knocking on the door, she looked at it wildly, as if fearful the noisy person would barge in.

"Are you alright in there? We brought some clothes for you." She recognized the voice of Liz and left the tub for the linens closet. Covered by a towel, she crossed the room from the closet to the door and creaked it open barely an inch to peek at the two sisters. "Kid isn't here at the moment, so no use fretting. Move aside, we're coming in." Before Crona could retort, Liz pushed the door open, knocking the lone inhabitant of the bathroom back against the wallpaper. Patty followed her sister's prompt entrance with a bundle of clothing in hand. The door slammed shut, and the girls stared at Crona cowering with hir towel. _'She frightens so easily.' _Liz noted. _'Then again, she __is_ _bare.' _"Here are the clothes," She nodded at Patty who gave Crona the pile before stepping back next to Liz. "See if any fit and once again no worries. Patty and I won't be looking."

Though relieved that the girls had turned away from hir person, Crona remained uncomfortable as she replaced the towel with a frilled gown. That was much too luxuriant for hir liking, so she dropped it hastily and searched the small pile until finding the simplest of the dresses. Plain, dark, and an almost faded gray, it would do.

Still, black lace traced its dark edges daintily. The thought of wearing it unsettled the pinkette as she was certain it would draw unwanted attention. Now donning the flowing frock that refused to hug the frail frame she called a body, Crona gathered a considerable amount in hir hands nervously and waited for judgment.

No longer hearing the rustle of clothes, Liz asked, "Finished?" Patty squirmed even more than Crona, only Patty's reason was one of impatience.

"I'm turning around!" Patty warned, and then did so before anyone could halt her. "Aw, you look cute! That can work, right Sis? She reminds me of those little dolls we always wanted." Like a China doll, Crona was dressed fancifully and was pale with a breakable air.

Liz didn't reply immediately as she busied herself with judging. "A loose fit, but that will do. Not half bad. Now, to find Kid." A begrudged look replaced her observant one, and she mumbled under her breath, "That spoilt boy, he should keep his opinions to himself."

"He can be nice!" Patty smiled with a skip and grabbed Crona's hand as she left the bathroom.

'_Only when he wants to be. Oh well, I can at least give Patty a well-off living thanks to this family. Just oh how he grates my nerves sometimes!' _"Yeah… Don't let my words scare you." Liz spoke in Crona's direction. "He's pleasant once you surpass the annoyances."

-x-x-x-x-

The group of three patiently stood in wait outside of Lord Death's study for Kid to motion them in. "What could be keeping him?" Liz spoke her thoughts. She sighed before silencing herself, Patty hummed a pleasant tune, and Crona resembled a statue of stone. Fortunately the doors then opened, and Kid ushered them in.

"May I present Miss. Crona." Kid offered with a glance at the frozen lavender pink-haired person, then to his father.

"Hello there, Crona. It's a pleasure to meet our rumored guest. Consider me odd, but I simply go by my surname. Hello to you as well, Elizabeth, Patricia." The masked man nodded at them, and they curtsied in return. Crona stared blankly in uncertainty. Noticing she wouldn't return the greeting, he continued, "From what I've heard, you have no shelter? If I might interest you, I offer then that you could stay here until further notice."

Crona knew what to reply with; it was going as Medusa had planned. Still, she struggled to sound. The room's occupants nearly thought she had gone mute until she mumbled, "Yes... I-I appreciate your hospitality." Hir eyes would meet nothing but the ever forgiving floor, and a new depressed air weighed down on hir. With any fortune (though fortune was a thing she believed either did not exist or very much disliked hir), no one would comment on hir behavior. Despite the tension, no one did.

"Grand! There are guests' rooms a plenty, so pick any you fancy and we will fix you up right." Crona made a cautious and slightly disturbed face at Lord Death, a bit overcome by his enthusiasm.

Kid stifled a groan at his father's inappropriate behavior. After all, Lord Mayors never conducted themselves in such a personal manner. "I'll show you the rooms myself. Pardon me." Kid bowed before his father before patiently leading Crona out.

_'Suppose we're no longer needed.' _Liz thought, almost annoyed. "Pardon my sister and I, as well." She curtsied, and Patty mimicked.

"Very well, good evening." Lord Death light-heartedly replied. The two followed Crona and Kid out of the study into the corridor, and Patty took this time to excitedly say, "We have a new playmate!"

"Playmate? Must you put it that way when you are already in your 19th year?" her sister replied a bit absently as her gaze trailed the couple in front of them.

Patty laughed good-naturedly in return. "A new friend for us~!" Liz smiled. Before coming to Gallows Manor nearly a year ago, they had no one to lean on or speak to excluding themselves. Now they even had the opportunity to make friends.

"We wait to see what sort of person this Crona is before any befriending."

Neither Kid nor Crona paid attention to the girls who took a separate hall. Kid focused on his informative words while Crona couldn't think of much more than hir own discomfort. "Are you listening?" the young man spoke up, finally noticing hir lack of interest.

"A-ah, I- My apologies..." she stuttered softly, not facing him and clutching hir arm for comfort. He grimaced at hir pitiful mannerism.

"Quite alright, though it'd do good to listen as I brief you on the manor's layout." Crona sedately nodded. "Here, this room is where you spent your visit. Your shroud still remains." He directed hir into the neatly made room; though smaller than the study, it was much larger than hir room under Lady Medusa's roof. Every detail of this place contrasted what she knew and could handle. "Would this room suit your stay?"

Kid watched Crona adjust to hir new surroundings, shroud in hand. There was something graceful about hir frailty as she stood alone, loosely hugging the cloth with hir back toward him. With a familiar morbid interest renewed, he realized she was wearing a dress meant for burial.

-x-x-x-x-

The following days the manor stirred in a flurry of final preparations for the Christmas gala. Each day Crona was either completely shoved aside, giving hir reason to hide away in hir room, or escorted by some inhabitant. Not many words left hir lips during the time period, but she managed to learn enough to find a way around, courtesy of the Thompson sisters. They were also the ones to inform hir of what exactly the Christmas gala was and aided in preparing an outfit. Saturday that week, the festivities officially commenced.

In the ballroom of the manor, townspeople joked and politely conversed, celebrating the ending of the year and the newfound tradition. Kid attentively hosted the seasonal event, overseeing the partygoers and kindly greeting newcomers. As the night went on and dancing ensued, he noticed one guest hiding away. He made his way casually to the wallflower. "Good evening, Miss. Crona."

Crona looked up at the familiar voice, with a lock of hair falling from underneath the bonnet she adorned. The bonnet was out of current fashion among gentry with how it covered most of hir head and seemed a bit out of place for this gathering. It would be put to better use on an outing. Nonetheless it was lovely with its frills and plum-colored silk that matched hir dress.

"Mind if I stay here with you for a moment?" Kid offered with a questioning hand, palm facing upward.

She shook hir head. "N-no, not really..."

He moved beside hir, looking out at the dancers. "You don't particularly appear to be enjoying yourself." Even he knew that was an understatement.

"Never before have I been around so many..."

"You have never been to a music hall, then?"

"No..."

"Hm." Crona peered curiously at Kid who had begun to form an idea. He then extended his gloved hand to hir. "Mind a dance with me?"

"D-dance? Oh I couldn't!"

"Then we'll continue to talk here." Holding hir arms tightly up to hir torso, she grimaced.

"A dance...would be fine..." A smile lit up Kid's pale face that set off hir unease.

"Lovely! This way if you please." The young gentleman led hir a few feet away from the wall she had lingered by.

After a gentlemanly bow, Kid gingerly raised hir hand and placed his other on hir side. She burned with blush at the contact and refused to see if he was doing the same. "Put your hand on my shoulder." he calmly instructed. She did so nervously.

Clumsily, she swayed with him, following his words and movements. Their dancing, she noticed, was much slower than those around them who kept in time to the waltz melody. "It's alright," She looked at him, making eye contact for the first time in days. "focus only on our dance." Hir breathing strained. Those eyes... They were too similar to _hers_. She could find no comfort in his actions or words and felt so out of place having someone practically hold hir.

"Now," he began, "let me admit how curious I am of where you are from. You came to us rather sick. Your hair and disposition are the most curious." So he really wasn't to be trusted. Lady Medusa had warned hir. She backed away a step, stopped only by Kid's hand slipping from hir waist to hir back.

"S-sir..." Crona spoke up apprehensively.

"Oh, my apologies. Thank you for this dance." He withdrew himself, ultimately releasing hir, and she scurried back to the safety of isolation. _'Blast it, I was too forward. Now she might avoid me even more than she has.'_

While the Death heir cursed himself, Crona calmed hir heart-rate. _'How can I gain his trust if he terrifies me with simple questions? Lady Medusa-... No, there is no sense is even wanting to go back… I must complete this task…'_

"_Do not return to me until I come for you. Be a good child for your Mother, and do not make me regret sending you. You will regret much more than that." _Though she yearned to return to Mother, the only person who understood hir, Crona knew that there would be no more chances for a failure child after so many had been given before.

**End Note:**

**(UPDATE: I have rewritten that particular part to fit proper etiquette I now know. Kid could have gone up to Crona considering 1) He is hosting the ball, 2) he is acquainted with Crona, 3) she is technically apart of his company since she lives at Gallows Manor. It is improper etiquette for this time for a person to introduce themselves on most occasions. ****If a person wanted to speak with someone they weren't acquainted with, they could pretend it was coincidence and feign surprise. I also fumbled on Kid's behavior as a host, because I could not find for the life of me information on this. I have edited the chapter based on _Pride and Prejudice _by Jane Austen.**

**Though I do my best to keep things accurate and make little (though important) edits over already posted work, I am no expert, so please do not use my words as your only resource.)**

**Thank you for reading! Yay, an even longer chapter ahaha~ You see, this was actually meant to be out by New Year's Eve, but I had a wedding to go to and family to love on, then came school.**

**Please review so I know what you like, dislike, and all that jazz.**


	3. Belladonna in the Garden

**Clandestine**

**Chapter three: **Belladonna in the Garden

-x-x-x-x-

**A/n: **Thank you to everyone for reading (even if you don't review)! Thank you specifically _**Veroxion, Chabeli05, CrazyAnime3, KuriSari, **_and_** CherryBlossom1233 **_for the reviews.

I've done my best with what knowledge I have to keep this fiction fairly accurate to the time period, but there are times, such as how to end a celebration, that I just did not find any answers to.

**Important: **It's come to my attention that it would have made more sense for me to use "zhe" instead of "she" as I've been using "hir", and both "hir" and "zhe" are gender neutral pronouns. However, I won't be correcting this in previous or future chapters as I personally prefer using "she" for a story being that "zhe" sounds too foreign for my liking. I remind you that I use "she" with an emphasis that it's only one letter from being "he" and still goes along with my theme. I hope no one is put off by this, but regardless, I'll continue things this way.

**Beta readers:**_** Ms. Issippi, Veroxion, TheAravis**_

-x-x-x-x-

As soon as the opportunity presented itself, Crona left the bustling ballroom. No pleasure would be had at Medusa's expense with the turn the night had taken. Roaming the halls solemnly, it occurred to the sullen youth that she had company. She stood as if struck by sudden paralysis in the sight of a golden-haired lady with an eyepatch over her left, who similarly had taken note of Crona's presence.

"My, my," the youthful woman began. "it is true how your hair resembles flowers." The woman pressed a peach-cream gloved hand to her cheek in a show of thought. "Crona is it? Might I be so bold as to call you that?" Unsure as to what she should reply with, Crona gave a blank nod. "How nice to make your acquaintance. I am Marie Mjölnir." Marie smiled warmly. "By chance, are you as lost as I?" she questioned with a brief laugh of humility.

_'Lost?' _Crona internally debated hir words. The pinkette was not lost for she had been wandering aimlessly, but telling a lie might appear less conspicuous. "Uh yes... I am afraid to say I have lost my way heading to bed." At the end of hir words she cast hir gaze downward.

"No bother!" The brightness in Marie's voice startled Crona, causing hir posture to straighten abruptly. "We shall find our way just fine! Follow me, if you please." Already Marie was traipsing off with the expectancy of Crona following. Foreseeing no other choice in the situation she'd unwittingly fixed hirself in, she obediently trailed behind.

-x-x-x-x-

Kid became aware of Crona's departure not long after, but his attention remained on his duty as host. The Christmas gala had reached its end, and the Death heir saw that all things had progressed smoothly, perfectly. However, the night had yet to end, he learned. A servant came to him with news. Uncertainty doused Kid's good evening. Black eyebrows furrowed as Kid knew the more important of the two between hosting the gala and tending to the news he'd just received. So he strode in out of the ballroom and thereafter followed the servant.

The servant swiftly closed the door to Lord Death's study behind the lord's son. Greetings were spared, though Kid bowed his head to the two standing adjacent to his father, and they acknowledged it by return. Lord Death began to speak. "As I feared, the disappearances are very serious. Not only is it nothing to make light of as people reappear dead, but the fiend does such in a timely and precise mannerism."

The fellow three occupants of the study heard the mayor's tone graven as he continued. "Whatever took the lives of those citizens is more skilled than the typical human." He allowed a pause for the words to sink in. "It has been discussed amongst myself, Stein, and Spirit that the best action to take for you is to keep up your guard. We shall all four remain cautious and alert of any strangeness. Until this is solved, we will not rest, and if any soul beseeches your knowledge on the matter, be weary and assure them with bare detail. That is all."

Kid's expression revealed obvious distress, but he refrained from speaking his suspicion. "Thank you for informing me, Father." He bowed briefly. "Good evening to you, gentlemen." He awaited signal from his father to leave.

"Good evening to you as well." "Good evening." "Good night." They chorused, and Kid left the room. A few seconds following, Stein and Spirit appeared behind the youth, and they paced together towards the manor's front doors where two ladies stood.

-x-x-x-x-

Marie and Crona wandered every which way, this proving to be nearly upsetting Crona who refrained from revealing to Marie how the woman led them in circles. It was downright pitiful and made hir feel for the slightest moment like she belonged at Gallows Manor; at least she knew the layout. Eventually, Crona offered a point of direction, and the duo arrived in the foyer just as the gala was ending and guests were leaving.

"It was a grand time, though you never were much of a dead beat, eh, Stein?" Spirit jested, seeming tipsy much to his wife's dismay beside him.

"A grand time, indeed." Stein returned the pleasantry curtly.

Marie smiled without word as she strode to Stein's side, Crona still behind her. Crona's by now tired eyes met those of Spirit's daughter, who possessed ash blonde hair tucked back in sparkling hairpins that matched the extravagance of her gown. Both persons froze, the pinkette especially still as the adolescent blonde eyed hir with blatant curiosity. The wordless interaction was interrupted by Marie speaking.

"Good evening, Mrs. Kami Albarn, Miss. Maka, Mr. Spirit Albarn. This is Miss. Crona." Marie motioned to Crona encouragingly.

"Hello." Kami and Maka curtsied, each with a smile, and Spirit gave a slight bow. Crona fumbled, as unsure as always, and nodded hir head shortly with strict posture.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss. Crona." Stein nodded his head in a simple acknowledgement, having no hat to lift politely. A cold spear of nervousness pierced hir heart from his intent stare and stitched scars, but she found she couldn't look away. A pause of tension remained between the gray-haired man and pink-haired youth until another voice made its owner's presence known.

"Good evening, Ms. Marie Mjölnir. Pleased to meet again, Miss. Crona." Kid bowed his head and smiled to both. Crona looked around and spotted the young man who had been there all along without her notice. That fact didn't soothe her any more than the strange scarred man, and she was incredibly tired of questions; she was only grateful that Kid had saved her from further uncomfortableness with Stein.

Soon she found Kid was even more of help as he offered to relieve hir of the extra company by escorting hir to hir room. It was lost on hir why the ladies of the group smiled in a knowing way at the pair, though Kid seemed to understand the implication of it as his cheeks reddened. Spirit smirked as he left with his wife and daughter, and Kid almost swore he heard the red-head chuckle under his breath, "He's an audacious one just like his father."

Nonetheless, the ebony-haired youth of 17 led the weary pinkette down a hall. At hir bedroom's door he proceeded to bid hir a good night, which she timidly returned. It was in this moment of Crona entering hir room that moonlight shown upon hir from one of the many tall windows of the mansion. The light illuminated Crona's figure, emphasizing hir ghostly pallor. _'Such a strange girl…' _Kid thought for that brief mesmerizing moment.

Back in his room, Kid's mind raced, not pausing as he dressed or readied his bed to his liking. Even checking the evenness of his bedding's placement that the maids never did get right did not slow the suspicions conquering his mind. These murders had begun only a little before he had found Crona ragged and alone. It made sense to suspect she had to do with them, though she had been at the manor endlessly the past weeks.

He wasn't convinced on either side. _'I need to learn more about her and keep a tight watch.' _A fretful and sickly stranger found unconscious and almost constantly in fear, she really was the perfect suspect. How he had missed such before was shamefully slow-witted for someone of his stature, at least he thought. He would not be allowing hir to skim his sight any longer.

-x-x-x-x-

Crona rose early with the orange and pink sunrise peeking through the chamber's thick curtains by a sliver. Hir sleep had been a restless one, nothing unusual. She lay for a moment, soaking in the sleepless morn with hir vision dancing across the lofty ceiling. Not knowing the time in the early morning, she slowly stood from bed and opened the thick curtains with gentle hands.

She squinted in pain initially at the glaring light, but once adjusted, enjoyed the view. New light coating the shadowy spaces of night came as a beautiful sight to the youth. The longer she remained at Gallows Manor, the fonder she became. Never before had she been able to wake to such beauty. The vast forests surrounding and stretching beyond the land did not even urge a grimace but a calm sigh.

Having hir fill of the sight, Crona released the material and began to fix hir bed. It gave hir something to do as all were asleep. She knew well this would not last, these calm test-free mornings. Still, if it was wrong to enjoy what she had while she had it, so should she be damned.

The tidying up of the room did not take long at all. It held very few personals, merely clothes she had received and the simple yet lovely furniture. She had been interested in dusting them like she had witnessed the servants do, but therein lay the problem; everything was already dusted and polished and pristine as the young master of the house saw fit.

Though Crona honestly did not have much knowledge on what most found strange or commonplace, she did find the perfectionist offputting. The Thompson sisters Liz and Patty were the only to give hir insight and remark on Kid's compulsions of perfectionism and symmetry.

She shook hir head, as if clearing it of useless thoughts. It mattered not. Kid remained the one she must be closest to. It was best not to think too much on his behavior for that reason.

She attempted to sleep for longer, knowing this was the only place she could sleep fully and in the morning, but hir body refused. An hour passed, then another countless amount of minutes, until she couldn't stand the nothingness. She dressed in a simple gray-blue house dress that was as unextravagant as proper fashion would allow and gingerly opened the room's door.

Not one soul haunted the hall, not even a servant.

Mouse-like, Crona wandered until the thought reached hir of visiting Kid. _'Would that be right?' _He was still a stranger to hir, but really, everyone was. She stopped walking. She bowed hir head and stared at hir bare feet, toes curling on the elaborately patterned carpet in a mindless act of fidgeting.

All she had to do was learn what made him weak. It seemed easy yet so difficult. It was easy because she did not have to learn how to care about him; difficult because she had to learn how to get close enough to find weakness. She had never been close to anyone before.

It had finally occurred to her how impossible the task she had been given was.

Hir feet managed to move and take hir to his room where she sat outside the fine polished door. The floor became hir domicile where she hugged hir knees and appreciated how the long dress curtained hir legs and feet. There she sat for a time she did not count. Silence hummed into hir ears, filling in for emptiness. Hir depthless eyes reflected the paling sunlight of morning from the windows, a sunlight that gave little warmth and could not scare away the cold that pressed upon hir back. The light into a dark house, the slight cold and vague warmth, and the sensation of carpet on hard floor consumed hir consciousness as hir senses consumed them.

It was not a curious thing that she jolted when Kid's door opened.

The two stared at one another almost comically.

"Good morning, Crona…"

Crona's shoulders twitched in nervous reaction, as if his words were a raised hand ready to slap hir. "Morning, Sir…"

The echo of their words gave way to a silence once more. Kid swallowed inaudibly with a strict line for a mouth. "Tell me, if you would," He eyed hir gently. "why you are on the floor?"

"It's…comfortable. I-I was waiting for you." She released hir knees with hands flat beside hir and head directed at hir lap that seemed a lot easier to stare at than Kid. It was foreign warmth as she blushed in a bout of embarrassment. She wasn't the type to fluster so often. Then again, she wasn't around many else other than hir mother.

A hand appeared suddenly within hir spectrum of vision as he offered to help hir stand. "No apologies are needed. Is there a matter you wish to discuss?" Crona slowly accepted his hand with hir own and felt slightly eased. His hand lingered with hirs as he awaited a reply with a calm and intelligible look dressed in his charcoal vest over a white dress shirt and matching dress pants.

Many words pressed hir conscience with a familiar cold fury. She recalled the previous night's events concerning them. "You tried to speak with me yesterday, and I fled. I'm sorry if I troubled you." She kept hir gaze downward and saw his hand slip from hirs almost saddeningly easy. "Everything that was happening…I'm not familiar with. I don't know how to deal with people being so close."

Kid's expression changed from calm to lightly apologetic as he realized just how uncomfortable he had made the meek creature. "It is I who should apologize. Had I known my actions would have been seen as threatening then I would have been less personal. Please do not misinterpret my intentions. I only wanted to learn about you in the most appropriate sense. Will you forgive my folly?"

Their gazes finally caught as Crona lifted hir head in sincere astonishment. No one had ever asked or wanted hir forgiveness before now. "You…want me to forgive you?"

"If you will, please." His face showed not a hint of dishonesty.

She was stunned by the emotion she felt. "Yes. I forgive you." The words were soft and odd to hir, but they satisfied Kid, who smiled in his reserved fashion. "What did you have to say at the…" The word slipped hir. "…gala?"

It appeared hir question both surprised and troubled him. It took some time, but he replied. "I haven't any idea of where you come from or why your hair is such a color. You keep to yourself, and I do my best to respect this privacy, but my curiosity is not doused. I wonder who you are."

Crona's mind swam as she struggled for a reply that would do hir any good. "I-it is just how it has always been, my hair…"

Kid watched with slight surprise and complete interest as panic brightened hir ghostly eyes. He watched as hir breathing quickened and as she held hirself tight. Hir mind was racing, and his began to. Then it clicked, a figmentated cog in the clockwork that was his mind. His eyes widened; he was paralyzed by thought. The walls around them seemed so distant yet at the same time too close. Suddenly it all made such sense, the hair, the oddities about hir.

"You're a witch." he quietly revealed with furrowing eyebrows.

Crona went still with wide and wild eyes that seemed to flicker a shade darker as they met Kid's. He heard hir inhale shakily but never exhale, because the next thing she did was run.

"Wait!" He followed without care for waking anyone. She wouldn't be leaving like previously, that he would make certain. Crona kept running. In the moment she comprehended many things: the weight and thud of hir bare feet against carpet and glossed wood, the heaviness of the relatively light dress bunched up in hir trembling hands, hir sporadic heartbeat. Most of all she thought of the disaster to come from this. She'd failed. She'd failed and now was condemned. It had been futile from the start.

At least for some time…she had experienced hospitality.

Tears were blurring hir vision as she made it to the foyer. She didn't want this, didn't want to leave. Lady Medusa was going to put hir through endless agony, but she knew she could no longer stay; she had no idea what fate would befall hir if she tried.

Suddenly Kid was in front of hir, blocking hir from the front doors. Crona gasped as she stopped on hir heels and quickly spun around in the opposite direction. He ran and reached after hir, just barely missing. He wasn't sure what to think of Crona now. She couldn't leave. He had to know if she had to do with the murders, and many other questions plagued him. As they continued the cat and mouse chase, he realized she was making hir way for the backdoors.

She made it through and into the manor's lush garden where she didn't hesitate to keep going. Hir downfall was a rose bush clipping hir feet and dress. She yelped in pain and gasped at the fall she took but didn't linger. She clawed at the ground in a desperate struggle to get up before he caught hir. The weight of her blood rushing and the sting of the cuts on her feet and legs just urged hir to crawl faster, but of course he caught hir. He grabbed hir arms and pulled hir up to him.

She went as limp as a ragdoll in his arms; hir eyes couldn't will enough strength to reach his face. She was done. She stared off, perspective thrown by the angle and the garden inverted. Kid kept hir within his grasp and gave seconds away to see if she would rise. When she did not, he raised hir by an arm under hir back and hand under hir head.

To hold hir this way was obscenely intimate, but this case was rare and queer. "Crona…" he muttered familiarly. She didn't even twitch at first. He kept the stare on hir, and slowly she lifted up. He kept hir body cradled, his golden eyes calm yet analyzing. Crona peered back with a resigned posture but with curious confusion peeking through. He wasn't angry, wasn't sad, wasn't scared.

Why?

"If you are a witch," he began, "then that is certainly unignorable. But your fear is wasted. All I want from you is the truth, not to harm you."

"Truth…?" she shakily asked with tears welling so suddenly that she was amazed at hir own emotion.

His ringed amber eyes stared down at hir, for the first time mesmerizing instead of unnerving. "Yes." he replied quietly. He leaned in, fingers lightly fidgeting with hir pale pink tresses as he examined. "I've never seen a witch before. I never thought you'd be so human."

Crona stared in bewilderment with her fast-beating heart, teary eyes, and bleeding cuts. He was unlike anything she'd expected. He…was curious about hir. Fascinated even. He wasn't going to make hir leave. "I can stay?" she practically choked out with tears streaming down.

Once again hir question seemed to surprise him, which it did as he had thought there were more important factors to focus on. "Why yes, of course. I still have questions for you-" Hir sudden sob broke his words. With widened eyes, he held hir up more and let hir cry against him. "Um…are you alright?" he asked almost dumbly.

Hir frail body quaked as she wept onto him, but he managed to see the difference of hir head nodding. "I-I just-…" she heaved. "I've never felt so happy…" It was stupid of hir to feel this way when this was only the beginning of hir troubles. The witch's child didn't understand it much at all. Yet she felt this way, so undeniably relieved and happy that she didn't yet have to leave the only haven she'd ever known.

Kid patiently held hir, still confused by the emotional display, but took it in stride. _'This girl can't possibly be a murderer, can she?' _he mused with eyes cast down to the shivering pinkette. She was just a little thing. He'd found hir alone and nearly dead. No, his suspicions were not completely assuaged, but he couldn't force anything on hir now.

After 10 minutes the young man vaguely wondered if hir crying had alarmed anyone, but he let hir continue. Soon hir wailing softened to sniffling, and he waited more until she was ready to speak.

Unbeknownst to him, as Crona calmed she remembered hir purpose. The fretful youth slowly lifted hir aching head to face him and was promptly offered a handkerchief. She took it a bit numbly and patted hir face. She sniffled a last time before again looking at him. He gave his usual smile, intending to comfort, and for once he actually did. She felt no treachery hidden behind it or strangeness. She only felt the kindness he meant with it.

After a speechless moment, Kid decided they were rather close in proximity and attempted to put space between them. He lightly gripped hir upper arms and positioned hir so that they could see one another clearly without being a mere inch apart. Crona didn't mind, but continued to gaze at him with a soft awe. He cleared his throat, eyes glancing away and in the process glimpsing one of hir nicked feet. He made a move to hoist hir up so it could be cleaned and bandaged in the house, but hir voice stopped him quite effectively.

"Kid…" was all that came from hir lips at first. It was the first time she'd said his name, and as far as he could recall, it was the first time she'd said anyone's name.

Shaking off his light astonishment, he replied, "Yes?"

She leaned into him again, arm pressed from the shoulder to the elbow against his torso. She didn't look at him, instead watching hir hands fiddle with the soiled handkerchief. At the entirely new behavior, he had to wonder what was occurring inside hir head.

Crona was silently amazed by how easy this had suddenly become. This was perfect. She wasn't afraid of him, just for this moment. Now she could try to befriend him. Before she could upset hirself with nervous thoughts, she continued to speak, "I would really like to see you more." It was truth spilling from hir; so much so that hir cheeks turned a bright shade of rose.

This almost made Kid blush as well, something he was unaccustomed to. The thought to correct hir tempted him, to say she would be able to see him more if she were out of hir room and didn't avoid him like the plague. But with hir leaning against him shyly and speaking so meekly in a way he found oddly appealing, he couldn't be so smart. Then it occurred to him that this would work perfectly in his favor. Being closer to hir would gain him his answers without upsetting the poor thing. Usually he would be quick to the point, but questioning could at least wait until she was feeling better, and for some reason he didn't fully understand, the thought of getting to know hir was honestly pleasant.

"I would enjoy seeing you more as well." he said little louder than hir.

At this she tilted hir head down more in natural embarrassment, hir face even warmer. She looked up to him, moving back so she no longer leaned, and they kept the eye contact for a few seconds that felt timeless. It was interrupted when Kid hooked his arms under hir and lifted hir as he had done when he first found hir, causing a little squeak to escape hir as well as a meager grimace from the sting of hir cuts being brushed by the dress.

"You alright there?"

"Y-yes…" she muttered, eyes closed and blushing more. This was so unusual, to feel this way. His concern felt so nice. In return, the palest pink marred his pallor. Hir voice and timid nature was attractive when unmarked by fear.

He carried hir back into the mansion and into a sitting room. She sat upon a cushioned bay window seat as he cleansed and dressed the small lacerations. It was unusual for Crona as she was being tended to, and unusual for Kid as it was improper etiquette. But he was the only one awake with hir as he knew it, and a gentleman tended to the needs of others, especially ladies. "There we are." he commented in slight satisfaction as he smoothed the bandages.

Crona's blush didn't fade as she watched him rise and stand before hir. He waited for a murmur of gratitude and was a little confused when he received none, but assessed it to simply be hir timid nature oppressing hir manners. To be honest, the thought to thank him didn't occur to the introvert, though she was grateful. Silence passed between the two with eyes roaming around and further fidgeting, until Kid decided to sit beside hir. "Are you feeling well?" The lighter haired youth nodded gently and continued to twirl hir thumbs in hir lap. "Good." Kid commented and looked down as well.

He looked at hir again, tempted to ask another question, and she looked at him with hir mouth opening to speak. They both stopped to allow the other to talk. Met again with silence, Kid tried. "Do you always rise so early?"

"Yes."

Another moment of peaceful yet awkward quiet ensued. Kid's head whipped at Crona's boyish voice interrupting the quiet of the room. "Why do I not scare you?"

"…I'm not so quick to fear what I don't understand." he answered after a pause.

Crona slowly looked to him with a subtle expression that told him she didn't fully understand. "…how can you think that way?" She gathered hir dress in hir hands tightly with confusion, having let go of the handkerchief to rest beside hir on the cushion.

Kid rested a hand between them to lightly lean on, though it would appear his posture was straight to anyone not looking closely. "I'm not foolish. There are many things I don't understand. But I plan to understand them with time. So there is nothing to fear. I learn what I can and take the rest in stride."

This confused Crona further. His words made no sense in hir mind. She leaned forward, hand nearly touching his, as she tried to express hir growing frustration. "But how? That doesn't make any sense. The world- The world is so confusing. I-…" She looked down. "I fear everything. I don't know how to deal with not understanding."

Kid was utterly intrigued by this side of the usually silent guest. "I suppose, for some, it can be extremely difficult, but you are not alone. I am willing to answer any questions of yours as well." Their eyes met again when she lifted hir head with genuine surprise at his offer.

"But I- No you couldn't…" She gazed away sullenly. "No one can… No one can help…" she muttered under hir breath.

"I would like to try, if you ever desire it. The world may frighten you, but those same things that you fear can make you stronger."

Now he really had hir befuddled. This time that she looked up, she glared, making him flinch in surprise. "You don't know." she stated firmly, childishly.

Waving off his surprise, his dark brows bent slightly with his subtle frown. "How are you so certain, _Miss._?" The polite term came out a bit snide.

Hir glare weakened into a pout, and she rubbed hir arm nervously. "…but you don't speak sense…"

"Who is to say I don't?" She looked at him again with an inaudible gasp and knitted eyebrows. While she remained troubled, his expression straightened. He shifted, turning toward hir a little more, and let out a soft sigh. "It's alright. Let time give meaning to my words. I will help you understand so long as you stay, if that suits you."

She kept hir stare focused on him with the look of an injured pup. His expression softened, the ghost of a smile playing upon his lips. "…I think…I'd like that." she admitted with obvious struggle. His smile grew a little more to be fully recognizable, almost a smirk.

It was sudden. It was unexpected, and yet it wasn't. It just…happened. He leaned in, his eyes closed, and she remained still. It all happened within a few seconds. His lips pressed against hirs without lingering before withdrawing. It was soft and warm and so simple.

Kid stared at hir with equal awe as was seen in hir gray-blue eyes. Slowly she raised a hand to hir lips and blush flowered into hir pale face. Crona was too stunned to speak, only wonder why Kid would do such a thing. It was absolutely the strangest reaction she'd ever encountered. He blushed similarly and needed a moment to think of something coherent to say and then another moment to actually say it. "I- My apologies." he managed to say, eyes still wide.

She still didn't speak and couldn't detour hir sight from him. "It didn't hurt." she finally muttered.

The innocence of the words relieved him of worry and tension enough to the point he almost chuckled. He smiled sheepishly and agreed, "It felt nice." Mentally he questioned his sanity for brazenly kissing hir. He hadn't thought about it and was fully able to control himself. Yet he'd leaned in and kissed hir. His eyes had drifted to hir lips and he'd just leaned in and done the unthinkable.

Abruptly hir impromptu closeness drew him from his panicked thoughts. Quietly she asked, "Can I try?"

A deeper blush spread across his face like wildfire. "That's not very proper!"

His exclaim instantly and obviously hurt hir with the pang of rejection. "But _you_ did it." she weakly accused and cowered.

Seeing hir this way, he attempted to soothe. "No no, well, yes, but-…" Much to his chagrin, she made a fair point. Exasperated, he stifled a groan. "If you like, you may."

She was much more hesitant now, still very much resembling a scolded pup, but leaned in again. Kid remained still and tense as Crona closed hir eyes and gently pushed hir lips against his. She put more pressure into it than he had; it was clumsy and a bit endearing. She lingered as well, bringing more color to his cheeks, but it was still brief. She parted with the calmest gleam in hir eyes despite the raging blush clashing with hir skin. He returned the stare as calmly as he could with half-lowered eyelids. It was nerve-racking yet sedating, lifting, and warming. It was the beginning of more between them than either would have ever anticipated.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/n: **I hope this makes up for the long wait. Please review so I know what you like, dislike, and all that jazz. Plus they encourage me when I'm being stubbornly hopeless.

Thanks for reading~


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